OPG, Inc. does not allow any policies or procedures that could result in abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment, or violations of a person’s rights. OPG, Inc. employees, contractors and agents may not abuse, neglect, exploit, mistreat, or violate the rights of any person who receives supports from OPG, Inc. In order to protect and promote the rights of the people we support, OPG, Inc. provides education regarding Rights, Rights Violations, and Rights Restrictions to every employee and person we support.
What Are Your Rights and Where Do They Come From?
You have a lot of rights that come from several places. The following documents list many, but not all, of your rights.
The United States Constitution and Supreme Court Decisions guarantee:
- Rights of freedom of Religion, Speech, and Press.
- The right to bear arms.
- The right to be free from housing soldiers.
- The right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures.
- The right to protection of life, liberty, and property.
- Rights to the accused in a criminal case.
- Rights in a civil case.
- The right to be free from excessive bail/fines and free from cruel and unusual punishments
- We have rights that are not otherwise stated.
- Powers not expressly delegated are reserved to the states or the people.
The United Nations issued a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
It includes 30 rights all humans have. To read a full, simplified list of these rights, check out this website Youth for Human Rights.
To hear and see the full declaration presented in American Sign Language, watch this video, produced by the American School for the Deaf.
The Home- and Community- Based Services Waiver
People who receive services through Medicaid Waiver have additional rights, which include:
- The right to a person-centered plan.
- The right to choose which services they receive and from whom.
- The right to complain.
- The right to live in and participate in the community to the same degree as people without disabilities.
- The right to choose where they live and who they live with.
- The right to the same protections under Tenant’s laws as any other person.
- The right to be treated with respect and have privacy in their homes.
- The right to access all parts of their home, and eat whenever they want to.
- The right to control their own schedules.
- The right to have spend time with people of their own choosing.
- The right to an accessible home.
- The right to be free from restraint and seclusion.
Watch the following video, presented by some of the people we support, for more information about the rights that all people have.
Protecting Your Right to Privacy
The right to privacy of your health information is protected by a law called HIPPA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act. For more information about what information is protected, and how, watch the following video. Our Notice of Privacy Practices follows the video.
OPG, Inc. Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Your protected health information (i.e., individually identifiable information, such as names, dates, phone/fax numbers, e-mail addresses, home addresses, social security numbers, and demographic data) may be used or disclosed by us in one or more of the following respects:
- To other health care providers (i.e., primary care physician, dentist, psychiatrist, neurologist, psychologist, etc.) about the services rendered by OPG, Inc. (i.e., residential and community habilitation, behavior supports, respite, PAC, music therapy, occupational therapy, etc.).
- To third party payers, parents, guardians, or spouses (i.e., insurance companies, Medicaid waiver, etc.) to obtain payment of your account (i.e., to determine benefits, dates of payment).
- To certifying, licensing and accrediting bodies (i.e., BDDS, DDRS, FSSA, State of Indiana, Health Professional Bureau, CQL, etc.) in connection with obtaining certification, licensure, or accreditation.
- Internally, to all staff members who have a role in your services or treatment.
Any other uses or disclosure of your protected health information will be made only after obtaining your written authorization, which you have the right to revoke. Under the new privacy rules, you have the right to:
- Request restrictions on the use and disclosure of your protected health information.
- Request confidential communication of your protected health information.
- Inspect and obtain copies of your protected health information through asking us.
- Amend or modify your protected health information in certain circumstances.
- Receive an accounting of certain disclosures made by us of your protected health information.
- You may, without risk of retaliation, file a complaint as to any violation by us of your privacy rights with us (by submitting inquiries to our Privacy Contact Person at our office address) or the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (which must be filed within 180 days of the violation).
We have the following duties under the privacy rules:
- By law, to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to provide you with this notice setting forth our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to such information.
- To abide by the terms of our Privacy Notice that is currently in effect.
- To advise you of our right to change the terms of this Privacy Notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information maintained by us, and that if we do so, we will provide you with a copy of the revised Privacy Notice.
Please note that we are not obligated to:
- Honor any request by you to restrict the use or disclosure of your protected health information.
- Amend your protected health information if, for example, it is accurate and complete; or
- Provide an atmosphere that is totally free of the possibility that your protected health information may be incidentally overheard by other customers, people supported, and third parties.
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